DOHA: A young man who rode a motorcycle and killed a pedestrian in a bizarre crash has been asked by the court to pay QR200,000 as blood money to the family of the deceased.

The court fined the convict QR10,000 for violating traffic law. But how the man was caught by the law-enforcement agencies is quite interesting.

It so happened that the Police Patrol saw two men riding motorbikes with tremendous speed. They gave the duo a chase but in vain. They vanished in think air. But soon the police was informed that a pedestrian was hit by a speeding motorbike.

When a police party reached the spot of the crash it saw a motorbike lying near the body of the victim.

The cops were quick to realize that this was one of the two motorbikes they had given a chase sometime ago.

With help from its registration plate they zeroed in on the culprit and referred the matter to the court after investigation.

The defense lawyer argued in the court that the crash occurred because they motorbike was chased by the cops. The court, however, did not buy the argument and convicted the man.

QR 200,000 sounds like a fortune, but it is $55,000 for taking a man’s life. For a young man who was running from the cops and then tries to claim their chasing him as a defense! This case sounds like a perfect opportunity to give a community service penalty in addition to the blood money; expose this young man to the consequences of motorcycle accidents, and accident victims, allow him to see with his own eyes, and serve, the victims. It could change his life, and change his callous attitude.

Once I shot the skyline, that perfect morning last week, I had to drive down the Corniche and pick up some details. If Doha were more stop-friendly, there would be more. Sometimes, I am holding up the camera and shooting and not even able to see what exactly I am shooting because I am really focused on driving.

The good news is, for some reason, there isn’t a lot of traffic in the “business” section of Doha. Most buildings are still under construction, still unoccupied. But there are some spectacular buildings.